Note: Citations are based on reference standards. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The specific requirements or preferences of your reviewing publisher, classroom teacher, institution or organization should be applied.

Closely basing his account on the local Najdi chroniclers who were contemporary with many of the events they describe, Rentz pieces together the life and thought of the thinker who, using as his guide orthodox Hanbalite doctrine, set out to purify Islam as he saw it practised around him, and to direct Muslims back to the original fountainhead of their faith. In the process Rentz tells the colourful story of the creation of the First Saudi State (1745-1818) with its capital at al-Dir'iyah, near present-day Riyadh.

Current troubles in the Middle East have focused much international attention on Saudi Arabia. However, little has been published in English on the background to its culture and its roots in the First Saudi State that arose in 18th-century central Arabia. The Islamic reform movement that gave it its sense of mission, and the life and thought of Shaikh Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792), the teacher who inspired it, have been similarly neglected. Often referred to outside Arabia as Wahhabism, the Shaikh's teachings have been a fundamental influence on the lives of Saudi Arabians and their government ever since his death in 1792. His ideas continue to inspire his many followers, both inside the Kingdom and abroad, and a knowledge of his life and thought is vital to a proper understanding of both Saudi Arabia and the Arab world of today. Students of Saudi Arabian history have long recognized George S Rentz's thesis on the Shaikh's life and the origins of the First Saudi State as a work of pioneering scholarship. Despite this, since its acceptance in 1947 by the University of California, it has never before now been published.

The Early Career of the Shaikh and the Founding of the State, 1115-1159 AH/AD 1703/4-1746 --
Arabia at the Beginning of the 18th Century --
Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhib : The Early Years --
To al-'Uyainah and al-Dir'iyah --
The Struggle for Central Najd, 1159-1187 AH/AD 1746-1773 --
The First War Between al-Dir'iyah and al-Riyid --
More Local Opposition in Najd --
Al-Riyad, Najd and al-Ahsa', 1168-77/1754-64 --
Najrin and al-Ahsa' Invade Najd --
'Abd al-'Aziz b. Muhammad b. Su'fid : First Years as Imam, 1179-87/1765-73 --
First Contacts with the Hijaz --
Consolidation in Najd, 1187-1199 AH/AD 1773-1785 --
Najran and al-Ahsa' Repelled Again --
Southern Najd and Sudair, 1189-91/1776-8 --
The Lord of al-Ahsa' in Najd, 1191-6/1778-82 --
Najd Finally Submits --
The Last Years of the Shaikh and the Beginnings of the Expansion of Unitarianism beyond Najd,1200-1206 AH/AD 1786-1792 --
Campaigns East, North and South --
War with the Hijaz, 1204-5/1789-91 --
The Shaikh's Final Year.

Abstract:

Current troubles in the middle east have focused much international attention on Saudi Arabia. However, little has been published in English on the background to its culture and its roots in the First Saudi State that arose in 18th-century Najd (central Arabia).Read more...

Reviews

Editorial reviews

Publisher Synopsis

"George Rentz was the modern pioneer of Western studies of Wahhabism and the early history of Saudi Arabia...It is strange that it has taken more than half a century for such a ground-breaking work [his 1947 Ph.D thesis] to be published. But this scholarly and well-indexed volume does Rentz proper homage, and, as the editor William Facey remarks in his introduction, what the publication lacks in punctuality is made up for by its topicality. The events of 9/11 have propelled the legacy of Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab from obscurity to a topic of widespread concern." - Robert Lacey, Journal of Islamic Studies 18/2, 2007Read more...